Senior Program Manager, New Product Introduction

Aether Biomachines•Menlo Park, CA

6d•$130,000 - $180,000

About The Position

Aether is moving new materials from the lab to commercial production. The Senior Program Manager, New Product Introduction owns the process that takes each product through manufacturing readiness, from lab scale through scale-up, technology transfer to contract manufacturing partners, and commercial launch. The role leads programs across research and development, process engineering, quality, contract manufacturing operations, supply chain, and commercial teams to ensure products are ready to be made reliably at scale. A manufacturing-readiness stage-gate framework already exists; the role will put it into practice, refine it, and help establish how Aether launches products as its portfolio grows. This is one of the first hires in a new manufacturing organization.

Requirements

At least 8 years of program management experience in hardware, chemicals, materials, batteries, or similar product industries.
A track record of taking products from development through commercial launch.
Experience building or substantially shaping a new product introduction or stage-gate process, not only working within one.
Ability to lead people who do not report to you across technical and business teams.
Strong systems-thinking and organizational skills.
Experience in a fast-paced or early-stage environment.

Nice To Haves

BS or higher in chemical engineering or another technical field.
Experience launching products made by contract manufacturers.
Experience with polymers or materials.

Responsibilities

Run Aether’s stage-gate process from lab scale through commercial launch, including gate reviews, readiness criteria, and decisions about whether a product moves forward.
Build and maintain integrated launch plans covering development, scale-up, technology transfer, qualification, and commercial readiness.
Coordinate across R&D, process engineering, quality, contract manufacturing operations, supply chain, and commercial teams to make handoffs clear and prevent work from falling through.
Partner with quality and process engineering to build quality into technology transfer from the start.
Identify risks early, drive them to resolution, and keep leadership informed of program status and tradeoffs.
Refine the stage-gate process as Aether’s product portfolio grows.